1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of dental care and more particularly to an improved toothbrush into which an electronic device is integrated for indicating to the user of the toothbrush and others when a certain brushing condition has been satisfied.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
In the field of dental care, a wide variety of improvements to the common toothbrush have been made typically to improve the efficiency with which the user can brush his or her teeth. The long term benefits provided by consistent and regular brushing of the teeth are well-established. The many improvements to the toothbrush are intended to improve the benefits provided by brushing, typically by facilitating a more complete and thorough cleaning of the teeth through various ergonomic and other related improvements designed to make it easier for the user of the toothbrush to achieve a complete brushing. While the existing toothbrush improvements are beneficial, however, these benefits are substantially wasted if the toothbrush is not used properly and replaced at periodic intervals.
The effectiveness of any toothbrush depends on several factors including, for example, the frequency and regularity with which the toothbrush is used, the amount of time or thoroughness of each brushing, and the frequency with which the user replaces a toothbrush with a new one. The benefits provided by any particular toothbrush diminish over time as the bristles become used and are no longer able to adequately provide the necessary cleaning and massaging of the teeth and gumline. In addition, the effectiveness of any toothbrush depends upon the amount of time spent brushing. If, for example, a particular user has a tendency toward brushing for an inadequately short period of time, the user may not receive the benefit provided by a more regular and thorough brushing.
Among the group of users who might be expected to tend towards brushing their teeth for an undesirably short duration are children. Parents will readily appreciate that long term dental care is not typically uppermost in the mind of their children as they brush their teeth. In many cases, children must be reminded repeatedly and consistently to brush their teeth and to take an adequate amount of time in doing so. It will be further appreciated that children (and others) are often motivated to complete an undesirable task by the prospect of obtaining a particular reward upon completion of the task. It would therefore be useful to provide a toothbrush which actually encouraged users to brush their teeth for a minimum duration by, for example, providing them with a reward for doing so.
In addition, it is common among users of all ages to retain a particular toothbrush for longer than a useful lifetime of the particular toothbrush. Most organizations related to the field of dentistry, including the American Dental Association, recommend regularly replacing a used toothbrush with a new toothbrush to maximize the benefits provided by brushing and to ensure adequate massaging of the gumlines during each brushing. Unfortunately, however, it will be appreciated that many users frequently forget to regularly replace an existing toothbrush with a new toothbrush.
While the existing toothbrush improvements are beneficial, they are not directed at the goal of prompting or encouraging users to brush their teeth for a predetermined duration or to replace their toothbrushes at specified intervals. Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a toothbrush that actually notified the toothbrush user when his or her teeth have been brushed for the proper amount of time and that further reminded the toothbrush user when a useful lifetime of the existing toothbrush has been exceeded. It would be further beneficial if the toothbrush providing these benefits was economical, readily manufacturable, and simple to use.